This week saw the Pope speak before Congress expressing the imperative to act on climate. In New York City, the Climate Group hosted its seventh annual climate week to draw together leaders and explore climate solutions. In the South, 14 mayors committed to advancing sustainability programs that will improve the economy and the environment in the Mississippi River Basin. And today, leaders from 10 global cities presented bold climate action plans to inspire others prior to COP 21.
After years of planning and reporting, 10 cities, including Washington DC, San Francisco, and New York, met critical environmental compliance milestones. Their achievements send a message to the international community that bold action on climate is possible and can be economically sound policy.
Such action comes at a critical junction—with the upcoming Paris climate talks in December, cities are hoping to inspire nations to take the challenge of climate change head on. The mission of the group, the Compact of Mayors, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance resilience to climate change, and to measure their progress. Applying these aims at the international scale would be an instant climate success.
The action of these 10 cities, and of the multiple organizations of mayors and cities devoted to advancing solutions to climate change, illustrate the unparalleled role of cities. To learn more about how to get your city involved in climate solutions, visit the Path to Positive Communities.
Ten Global Cities Present Climate Action Plans Ahead of Paris COP21
Compact of Mayors | September 24, 2015
New York (September 24, 2015) – Today, ten global cities, representing 58 million people and more than US$ 3 trillion GDP, from 5 continents, join first-mover Rio de Janeiro in announcing that they have met all planning and reporting requirements of the Compact of Mayors. In doing so, the cities presented ambitious climate action plans ahead of COP 21 – the Paris Climate Conference. The cities of Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Melbourne, New York, Oslo, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney and Washington, DC have now reached the Compact compliance milestone; their achievement builds on years of local efforts to combat climate change through membership in the city networks, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), founding partners of the Compact.
“Through the Compact of Mayors, cities are making a major contribution toward global progress on climate change,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change. “They are also showing their national governments that more ambitious goals are both possible and achievable. And – perhaps most importantly of all – they are proving that fighting climate change and increasing economic growth go hand in hand.”
